Head to France and act like the French--get out of Paris for the month of August and see the country in your self-drive sub-compact. You do so for as little as $598 with Discover France, an 8-year-old firm specializing in active vacations all over the republique. The under-$600 price tag gets you a five-day/four-night Burgundy and Wine Country tour through three vineyards of Burgundy and the Beaujolais. You start at Dijon (mmm, mustard), continue on to Beaune (Burgundy's "center"), then to Lyon, the real capital of French cuisine (sorry, Paris). The charge for this is $420 in high season, $397 in low. To this, add the cost of the rental car, a sub-compact manual transmission, for instance, starting from $178 for five days, $199 for eight days to get your grand total.
Along with the tour's accommodations (in charming 3- and 4-star country inns and hotels), you get breakfast daily, a Michelin guidebook to the area, an in-depth road book of suggested routes and a handy map and two national monument passes. Discover France is the only U.S. travel company authorized to provide these passes to its clients. With them, you get immediate entrance (no waiting on line) to more than 100 of France's most prestigious cathedrals, chateaux and regional museums. (Sites in Paris, for instance, include the Pantheon and the magnificent Sainte-Chapelle. You can also use the pass to arrange for a private visit with an English-speaking guide at many sites.)
Other self-drive tours include Normandy (from $465 high season, $435 low); Chateaux Lifestyle ($672 high season, $524 low), both the former being five days (four nights); and great Restaurant Tours, eight days (seven nights), ranging in price from $958 (high season) to $628 (low).
To contact Discover France, phone them at 800/960-2221 or visit their Web site, www.discoverfrance.com and click on "Self-Drive."
